I am involved in a lot of things and with a lot of people, because all my life, I have cared about people. So what do I do? I’m a community Servant. That’s how I define myself. But the community, the greater Tacoma community has named to me their peace laureate.

I became the peace laureate because of someone recognizing people. Recognizing the work that I’ve done over time to bring people together. And COVID has allowed me an opportunity to sit still, reflect on the disparities that are in the world and what is my role and helping people during this time. And I’ve just come to the conclusion that my purpose in life is to serve. My purpose in life is to help those that cannot help themselves.

So, you ask me, what do I do? I do a little bit of everything. I work in higher education at a small private college in Tacoma. I run a non-profit. I host a podcast. I speak and motivate in schools and communities that I’m invited into. Most recently, I was invited to check this out, I was invited to speak at the Daughters of Norway state convention. So, really crossing over into different communities. I’m a convener.

That’s what I do. Just bring people together. And so when you ask me to define myself in terms of what I do, that’s hard. I’m just special, and I use all the skills and talents. A matter of fact, I just found in research because I’m also a student.

I’m in a doctoral program right now in organizational development and change, and I found a new word to describe myself a multipotentialite. How about that? People that just do a whole bunch of things and they’re good at it. So because I’ve been blessed with this multitasking phenomenon as part of my DNA, I’m a community service. It’s a calling.

And you got to be still to hear the call to receive the call. It’s the fire in your belly. It’s what keeps you up at night. It’s that burning sensation, other than heartburn, in your heart. I mean, when it aches, when you see pain and your heart aches, it’s with the recognition that you are blessed, I am blessed to have my right mind.

I’m able bodied. That means I need to take up space, serving others, doing what I can for those they can’t do for themselves. It’s a calling. And the only way that you’re going to know that is for you is to be still.

Until I’ve done that self work, I have done it, and I’ve done it deeply to be able to hear my darkest thought and notice. I said, hear my darkest thought. They come. But when I was able to be still and hear them, internalize them, then I was on the road to, healing myself, because then I could answer.

I could intentionally address what was coming up and answer those thoughts on my own or ask for help. You know that happened to me early on in life. I was super blessed that I got an understanding. I’m 63 years old now, but I got this understanding in my early twenties that I just need to craft out time to be still so I could hear the direction for my life. So you just have to be still and hear, but you be still so that you can know what to do.

And so that’s how I know. I answered the call because I was still to hear it.